Jump receives $10 million grant to expand its 3D Heart Library

Aug 2, 2016 | By Tess

Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, a medical research and innovation facility in Peoria, Illinois, has just announced that it has received a generous $10 million grant from its founder William Shepard which it will put towards expanding its 3D Heart Library. The large grant was gifted to the Shepard Endowment for Healthcare Engineering at the Jump Trading Center after an initial gift of $5 million in 2012, which itself was put towards establishing a digital library of 3D congenital hearts.

The 3D Heart Library, essentially a collection of digital reproductions of human hearts, was created for the purpose of expanding research and knowledge surrounding congenital heart disease. Each of the digitally rendered 3D models of hearts available through the library is based on data from a real patient’s MRI. Specifically, the database of 3D printable hearts allows physicians and surgeons to work with, analyze, and study true to life anatomical models, which could better prepare them for surgical operations.

According to pediatric cardiologist and lead investigator for Advanced Imaging and Modeling at Jump, Dr. Matthew Bramlet, the recent $10 million grant will allow the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center to expand its project and even services in a number of ways. Notably, the funds will allow Jump to 3D print patient specific hearts without having to charge the patient’s families. This means that when an MRI or CT scan of a child’s heart who is suffering from congenital heart disease is sent from a hospital to Jump, the facility will be able to 3D print it right away and without additional costs to the patient.

The funding will also help Jump to continue its work with the NIH 3D Print Exchange Heart Library, which provides access to accurate and high quality scientific 3D printable models through its ever-growing online database. The grant will also allow Jump to expand the Advanced Imaging and Modeling (AIM) project, which itself aims to educate patients and their families through advanced imaging, 3D models, and virtual and augmented reality. In line with this, Jump will also continue to educate clinicians about advanced 3D medical visualization, as well as the general public through a number of installations and presentations at institutions like museums and other STEM related events.

The Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center was founded as a collaboration between non-profit Catholic health care corporation OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. OSF HealthCare Foundation President, Tom Hammerton, commented on the recent grant saying: “Mr. Shepard’s generous contribution to OSF HealthCare is really a catalyst to change health care delivery and patient outcomes throughout the world. His generosity will touch many lives. We greatly appreciate his dedication to his initiative and the OSF Mission.”